The 2010 harvest has been late but so far looks sensational. The later ripening has also had the added advantage of lower light angles and lots of great photograph opportunities. Enjoy a sampling of photos from Tablas Creek, taken between October 25th and November 5th, 2010

The end of September is a great time to walk the vineyard. Most varieties are ripe or nearly so, but most of the fruit is still on the vines. And you get a great chance to see where everything is. We're harvesting our last Grenache Blanc and Syrah this week, and our first Grenache Noir and Roussanne.
Mourvedre, Counoise, and Picpoul are still a few weeks off. But the vineyard looks great, and we're excited with 2009.

We had a break in the weather early this week, with morning fog and daytime highs in the mid-70s. The vineyard is poised for veraison, and I spent a few hours prowling around taking pictures mostly in our Grenache, Mourvedre and Vermentino blocks.

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Harvest, Week of October 9

The cool and wet weather at the end of last week and the
beginning of this week has temporarily halted picking. The light rain has washed some of the dirt
off the grapes, and we’ll be ready to bring in more grapes as the weather remains
dry. At this point, we have approximately one third
of the grapes in the winery.

Meanwhile, in the winery, we have begun pressing the
Syrah. After fermenting for about two
weeks in open-top tanks, the Syrah is now ready to be pressed. The juice in the tanks is pumped into a tank,
and the remaining berries are transferred to the bladder press, where we
squeeze out the remaining juice. The juice will spend the next several months in tanks and barrels, where it will complete primary and secondary fermentation before being blended next spring.

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Harvest, Week of October 9

The cool and wet weather at the end of last week and the
beginning of this week has temporarily halted picking. The light rain has washed some of the dirt
off the grapes, and we’ll be ready to bring in more grapes as the weather remains
dry. At this point, we have approximately one third
of the grapes in the winery.

Meanwhile, in the winery, we have begun pressing the
Syrah. After fermenting for about two
weeks in open-top tanks, the Syrah is now ready to be pressed. The juice in the tanks is pumped into a tank,
and the remaining berries are transferred to the bladder press, where we
squeeze out the remaining juice. The juice will spend the next several months in tanks and barrels, where it will complete primary and secondary fermentation before being blended next spring.